My Daughter's Keeper
by S. Michelle Green
Summary: Relena's oldest daughter is now fifteen years old, and struggling with everything that normal fifteen year olds do, and then some...but how will Relena handle a kidnapping threat against her daughter, as well as an encounter with the offender herself?
1. Chapter 1

Title: My Daughter's Keeper

By: S. Michelle Green

Prologue

AC 206

Heero Yuy slung the small duffle bag over his shoulder, and stood up a little straighter. His eyes flickered to the open window, making sure that his exit would be clean and without flaw. He couldn't after all just walk out of the front door. There were security systems set up in case of entry from elsewhere in the house that would keep a potential burglar from getting away without a fight. Heero could easily disarm the systems, but his decision to go had not been finalized until six hours earlier, when cameras flashed and microphones were being shoved under his nose. The media had no respect and no real interest in the lives of the Minister's family, only what was the new big story. And it was usually Relena.

His eyes rested on the golden haired beauty, who had not yet realized his absence. She was turned on her right side, cuddling with her pillow, lost in dreams. A small smile played on her lovely, contented face, and Heero had to turn away. He'd let her down. He wasn't even gone yet, and the guilt was already flooding into his heart. He would leave her again, and this time he wasn't coming back. No matter how much she meant to him, it could not make up for the hate he felt in his being for the things he'd experienced since their marriage six years earlier.

Too many pictures, too many parties, too many rumors about his wife, too much time playing Relena's playboy husband for the media. This wasn't him. She was in love with someone that didn't exist...at least someone that didn't exist in Heero Yuy.

For a moment he stared at the bedroom door, contemplating stepping out into the hallway, walking three doors down, and peering into the pale pink room where a little blonde girl slept on a large pink canopy bed. He forgot it quickly, and moved swiftly and quietly to the window. He took one last look at Relena, and stepped up onto the ledge. The guard duty tonight would be a cinch. They were all amateurs and he could sneak past them without them ever suspecting that anything was out of place. Heero left that night, putting Relena out of his mind, keeping the hate of her politics and her parties closer. He worked to forget about her, forget about what had brought them together at the age nineteen. He worked hard to put the little seven year old miniature Relena out of his mind, to erase the name Mary Grace Yuy from his very heart, he would also work to never remember the other three: Thomas, and Owen, and Savanna. He would put all his efforts at putting them behind him forever.

He never thought though that he would be able to completely do this, but he had to try.

Six months later

The headlines were notorious. Since the tragic exit of her husband had been confirmed, the press had ran the story in the ground. Relena shook her head as she read the newest "information" about her loss which had appeared on the front of a magazine called _Inside Politics_, though it rarely ran stories about poilitics.

**Minister Peacecraft-Yuy's Husband: Is he Missing or did he Walk Out?**

_Former Preventer Heero Yuy leaves wife and four children to wonder what went wrong._

Relena stared up at her publicist and shrugged, "What do you want me to say about it?"

Roy Fish stared back, "I want you to speak out," he finally said, "I don't care, deny it or talk or something! Relena, these people...your people need an explanation to why your husband just walked out on you," Relena winced, but Roy wasn't worried about sensitivity, "what went wrong, how long have things been bad, was there another woman..."

Relena rose from her seat quickly and spun around so that Roy could not see her face, and spoke rapidly, "It's no one's business but mine what happened between my husband and I, if anything, and I do not intend upon telling the world the few things I have that are still sacred," she growled, "which isn't much."

Roy sighed, "Relena, until you say something about it, give an explanation...anything, just letting everyone know you're okay, they aren't going to leave you alone!"

"What if I'm not okay!" Relena spun around to face Roy, and glared at him, "These people don't care how I'm doing, they just need a good story. Now, Roy, please leave. It will eventually calm down. The buzz about my pregnancy out-of-wedlock with Mary Grace settled down," she pointed out.

"Yes, ma'am," Roy agreed, "after you announced that you would be marrying the child's father."

Relena sighed heavily, "Roy, please leave. I'm having lunch with Quatre Winner in an hour."

Roy turned on his heel and marched toward the door, "You're getting sloppy, Minister, you're going to let this get the best of your political career if you are not careful."

"I can't say that my career is at the top of my priority list anymore, Roy. I have just lost my husband after all."

Roy left the office without another word, and Relena slid down into her chair, and let her head fall on the desk, cradled by her arms.

"Oh, Heero, why _did_ you leave? Why? Was it something that I have done to you? Was it the rumors?" She did not receive an answer back to her questions spoken aloud, only silence, which is what Heero and she had lived in for a year or so up to his disappearance.

Relena stared at a picture of Mary Grace and Heero that was still displayed on her desk. Mary was three, with a round smiling face, and wide blue eyes. Little golden ringlets stuck out from a pink cap that the girl wore, and she was sitting atop her daddy's shoulders. There was a rare smile on Heero's face.

Another picture of Heero and Relena holding their son, Thomas, sat near the first picture.

Hot tears coursesd down Relena's cheeks, and she furiously tried to wipe them away and cease her crying, but she just couldn't.

"Damn you, Heero, damn you to hell!" she wailed, "You've hurt me so many times, you think I'd be numb of this pain by now, but how could you do this to our children?"

The phone on her desk beeped and Relena jumped. She looked down at the receiver, and pressed the speaker button.

"Yes, Martha?" Relena tried to speak clearly.

"Mr. Winner is here to see you, ma'am," the secretary answered.

"Tell him to come in."

A few seconds later the door to her office opened, and there was Quatre, looking tired but wearing a comforting smile on his face.

"Hey, 'Lena," Quatre smiled, "How are you?" He walked over to her desk as she was standing up, and the two old friends embraced.

"Not very good," Relena groaned into his shoulder, and then laughed, "I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad to be here," he said, and patted her on the back.

"How's Dawn?" Relena inquired, remembering Quatre's tiny, black haired wife.

Quatre smiled and his eyes softened, "She's happy and hopeful as usual, determined to put up a fight..."

Relena moved away from Quatre slightly and stared up into his friendly blue eyes, "Quatre...?"

Her friend swallowed hard, and stared down at Relena, once again forcing a smile onto his face, "Dawn was diagnosed with liver cancer, and the treatments are not making an impact yet. However, I have faith that she will pull through it fine. She says that Charise and I give her more strength and determination than any doctor or treatment could. I think she'll pull through."

"Oh, Quatre, I'm so sorry," Relena latched onto him once again, but this time for his comfort instead of her own.

"It's okay, really. She's stronger than she looks, and Sally is trying to help her to find a decent specialist here on earth."

"How is Sally?" Relena asked quietly.

"Better," Quatre said.

Tragedy seemed to cloud over all the Gundam pilots and their families, Relena thought. First, Wufei had gotten killed on what was supposed to be a routine mission into space. Then, Duo was severely injured in a mobile suit that he was testing which exploded and sent him flying forty feet to the ground. Heero left Relena and four children for Heaven only knew what reasons, and now this...Dawn Winner had been diagnosed with liver cancer, and it wasn't looking good.

Quatre must have been reading Relena's mind.

"Don't think about the negative things, Relena. We're here, and we should be thankful. Let's go to lunch, it will make you feel better to get out of this office. Oh, and I have a surprise for Savanna since her birthday is next week."

Relena laughed, "You're spoiling my kids, Quatre."

He smiled back at her genuinely, "That's Uncle Quatre's job. Come on, I know they love it. Duo and Hilde's kids don't complain."

"Of course not," Relena went on as they headed out the door, "But you won't want to be spoiling them so much when they turn into some regular brats."

"Give it to them while you have it," Quatre muttered, "I love to see kids smile."

A year and a half after Heero had left, and barely a year after Quatre had walked into Relena's office in the state of mind to comfort her and bearing the bad news about his wife, yet displaying outward hopefulness, Dawn Winner died a death of much suffering. She had blatantly refused treatment, explaining that she just wanted to be with her family in her last days. She was twenty-four. Quatre buried the woman that had been the center of his life for six years.

But as much as Dawn had been in his life, even after the child and all their hard times, Quatre's mind always went back to Relena. The dove of peace, the strong young woman behind the end of the wars, the one person who was now holding together that fragile peace that she and the Gundam pilots had worked so hard to attain. He had never told anyone, though he was sure that there were people who knew, but he was in love with her. He had been in love with her from day one. How could one not love and admire such strength and determination for peace amongst war? Quatre had a feeling Trowa knew, much like Duo had known of Heero's hidden feelings for Relena. No matter who you were, it was often hard to hide something from your best friend.

Quatre stared at the coffin that contained his wife's body. It was minutes before the large oak box carrying such a small body would be lowered into the ground. He had loved his wife, and she had been a wonderful woman, and she would be missed. Quatre's hand rested on his four year old daughter's blond head. She was wiping tears off her rosy cheeks and sniffling every few seconds. There were so many things that were beyond her understanding at her age, but she fully understood the largest thing: Mommy wasn't coming back. She had gone to heaven with Allah and she wouldn't be sick any longer up there.

Quatre bent down and lifted his small daughter in his arms and she hugged her daddy, burying her little head into his shoulder. War had taken enough precious lives of people that Quatre had loved, and now he was beyond dealing with war. He could fight in a war, he could do something to defend the people he had lost...but with cancer...he had nothing. He had only a broken heart and a broken-hearted daughter.

"Quatre?" Relena strode up next to him as the graveside ceremony ended, "Do you need anything?"

She was dressed in a long sleeved, knee length black dress, and her hair was pinned back off her neck. Trowa appeared at her side, her bodyguard for the night.

Quatre tried to force a smile onto his face, but he was sure it looked more like a grimace.

"No, Miss Relena. You've been too kind already. I'll be...we'll be fine. Thank you for all you have done so far," he told her truthfully, trying to keep his voice steady.

Relena patted Charise on the back, but the little girl barely moved, and did not acknowledge Relena at all.

"Now, Chari, it's rude to ignore grown-ups. I'm sorry, Relena," he shook his head as his daughter's arms went tighter around his neck, "She hasn't been responding to anyone for the last few days. I think it will take some time."

Relena shook her head, "It's fine," her hand came to rest on his arm just above the elbow, "Quatre, if you ever need anything, my door's open, for the both of you. I want to hear from you at least every other day so that I know you're okay," she said winking and giving him a smile.

Quatre nodded, though he couldn't force a smile, "Thank you, Miss Relena."

Relena watched as the casket was lowered into the ground. When would it end? Wufei had passed away two years ago at the age of twenty-five, Heero had left after six years of marriage, and Quatre's twenty-four year old wife had passed away from cancer, and Relena didn't know how much more she could take.

_God, you took away friends, and my husband, and you leave these children without one of their parents,_ Relena thought, _when will it end, when is it enough?_

TBC

Author's Note: I just wanted to warn everyone that the next chapter is a big jump. It's like, okay here we are with small children, then BOOM...it's years later...just wanted to let everyone know so you don't think I'm crazy.

-S. Michelle Green


	2. Chapter 2

Title: My Daughter's Keeper

By: S. Michelle Green

Chapter 1: The woes of being fifteen...as well as being a Peacecraft.

AC 214, May

Mary Grace Peacecraft leaned over her desk a little further, noticing that Bret Maxwell was leaning back casually in his seat to try and sneak a peek at her work. This highly irritated her, and she put her head very close to her paper. Long, golden blonde hair swept the top of the desk obscuring the view. Bret sat up again and scribbled something on his paper. He looked down at the podium, and knew that with fifty-six students, the teacher wasn't going to detect a little note being passed. Bret quickly leaned over and placed the paper near Grace's elbow.

Mary Grace rolled her eyes, and jerked her head toward Bret, giving him the dirtiest look she could muster, and snatched up the note.

_Mary Grace,_

_you know damned well you don't want me to fail this class, because if I do, I'll cheat in summer school without your help. Let's not delay the inevitable. I just need the answer to question number seven._

_Love, Bret_

_P.S. You looked nice Saturday in the pink belly shirt and white mini skirt, I thought about asking you to the dance..._

Mary Grace rolled her eyes. He thought he was such a sweet talker. He already had a date, and she knew he would have come up with some reason not to ask her. Plus, she found him obnoxious, arrogant, and too immature. He was nice as a friend, but annoying otherwise. She scribbled a note back to him before the teacher could catch her.

_Bret,_

_go ahead and fail. You should have read the chapter. You need to be more like your older brother. Grow up._

_Love, Mary Grace_

_P.S. About the dance...drop dead. Jake Barton asked me last month. Sorry...plus I know you're going with Liza Weyridge. You think she's hot...blek..._

Bret stuck his tongue out at her after he had finished reading her note, and she gave him a winning smile.

After class they walked out of the building and into the courtyard for lunch.

"So you really don't think Liza's pretty? I thought you two were friends?" Bret said, sitting next to his unlikely best friend.

"We are friends, but she always finds it necessary to bring up the subject of how she's only fifteen and has had dozens of boyfriends, even slept with a few, and how I am the same age, and not only lacking in boyfriends, but breasts as well," Mary Grace explained with a hint of bitterness.

Normally for Bret, it would have been an awkward conversation to have with a girl of her beauty. Discussing one's breasts should have made a guy nervous; however, Bret had been conversing with Mary Grace in this manner since they were very young. They were two days apart in age after all, Bret being the elder one.

A group of giggling girls was making their way over to the area where Bret and Grace were sitting. The leader of the pack was Lindsay Knightly, Bret's former girlfriend, and possibly the best-looking girl at their school. Even older guys wanted to date her because apparently the ones their age weren't satisfying their needs. Lindsay came to stand in front of Bret and swung her long black hair over her shoulder.

"Hey, Bret," she said in a flirtatious voice. Her green eyes snapped to Mary Grace, and giving her a once-over, said quickly, "Hi, Grace."

Mary Grace wasn't sure why Lindsay despised her, but she had learned to take it in stride. She knew she was not half as pretty as Lindsay, but she gave her a lovely smile, and said, "Hi there, Lindsay, how are you doing? How's Todd?"

Lindsay stood up straighter and looked down her nose at the smaller girl, "Todd is none of my concern any longer, and should certainly be none of yours either," she gave her a very fake smile, "Anyway, I came to talk to Bret," her attention went back to the handsome young man in front of her, "Bret, you're being terribly quiet today. That's out of the usual," she grinned at him, letting everyone know that, yes, she knew his usual. They had dated before and had become very accustomed to one another's "usual".

Bret could not help but smile up to the raven haired beauty. She was so charming and pretty. She was the closest to the perfect girl he had ever seen. She was tall, but not too tall, just tall enough to have long, thin, traffic-stopping legs. She had long, silky hair that any guy would want to run their fingers through, soft, olive skin, full lips that were very kissable (and he knew it for a fact). Her deep green eyes could seduce a man with just one look into their emerald depths. Plus, she had a knock-out figure. Bret could not ignore this fact. She was very well-to-do as far as her bust went, and she had a small, curvy waist, and a nice ass to go along with the rest of the package.

"What's up, Lindsay?" Bret asked, grinning up at his former girlfriend.

"Nothing much, I finally saw what a jerk Todd was being, and we are no longer a couple," she said this without any hint of coming on to Bret, which was surely her intention.

"That's too bad," said Bret, also giving no indication that he wanted another shot at a relationship with Lindsay, "But you can get any guy you want, so I know you won't have any problems finding a date to the Spring Festival Ball. That is, I'm assuming you kicked Todd completely to the curb, and have no intention of being seen with him again."

"Of course I'm planning on finding another date," Lindsay said, "but I don't think I could necessarily get any guy I wanted."

"Sure you could," Bret encouraged her truthfully.

"What if the guy I want already has a date," Lindsay said seriously, stepping within inches of Bret, "What would I do then?"

Mary Grace was getting sick to her stomach watching Lindsay's little seduction unfold. She rolled her eyes and got up from her seat. If she wanted to finish her lunch she would have to go somewhere else.

"Grace," Bret said jerking his head in her direction, snapping out of the trance Lindsay was putting him in, "Where are you going?"

Mary Grace shrugged, "It's obvious what's going on, and I feel like an intruder," she glanced at the four girls that were a few feet away from Lindsay, "I haven't got quite as strong as this lot when it comes to watching Lindsay's attempts."

Lindsay turned away from Bret and glared at the smaller girl, "You are indeed the rudest, most arrogant little bitch that I know."

Mary Grace blinked up at her, and smiled once more, "Why, what do you mean by that, Lindsay? I was simply giving you space so that you could steal away my friend Liza's date in privacy, or rather the most privacy you can get with your fan club following you around."

Lindsay was just itching to slap the girlish little face of that bratty Peacecraft bitch. She balled her fist at her side and dug her nails into the skin of her palm. Bret moved from his seat and began to slowly moved toward the two girls.

"You think you're something else, don't you?" Lindsay spat at her, "Little Mary Grace Peacecraft, daughter of the former Queen of the World. Queen of the World...trash, if you ask me..."

"Hey!" Bret yelled, "Cut it out, Lindsay."

She ignored him, and continued to glare down at Mary Grace, "Daughter of Relena Peacecraft and you think you're better than everyone. Sure, your mom has worked her way up from Foreign Minister to President, but what of your daddy? You have brothers and sisters too...what, did a former Preventer actually get lost in the shadows of your mom? Or did she just liking fucking a bunch of..."

Lindsay's words were cut off by a fist pummeling into her face. She screamed and hit the ground. Mary Grace looked down at the bloody-faced girl in tears, then looked at her cousin, the assailant. Veronica Peacecraft rubbed her aching knuckles, and gave Mary Grace a reassuring look.

"Why the hell did you do that!" Mary Grace demanded, "You're going to be in so much trouble!"

"No one talks about my family that way," said the older girl, examining her fist, "Bitch has got a hard head, I'll give her that."

Bret just stared down at the bloody girl screaming her head off over a broken nose. Well, at least now he wouldn't feel like dumping Liza to go to the dance with Lindsay.

"You two get out of here," Veronica demanded, admiring her handiwork, "I'll take care of this, and probably be suspended. Just go to your next class."

Bret and Grace wasted no time in doing so. They snatched up their belongings, and headed back toward the school. A professor had arrived and was demanding to know what had happened, and Lindsay's four friends were all yelling and screaming obscenities at Veronica while Lindsay still lay on the ground, sobbing for her precious, now broken nose.

At home that night Zechs was furious. Veronica stayed seated on the couch, answering "yes, daddy" and "no, daddy," as Zechs fired one question after another at her.

"Do you _want_ to be suspended?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest, and looking down at his daughter.

"No, Daddy," she answered glumly.

"It was my fault, Uncle Milliardo," Mary Grace insisted, "I should never have spoke to that girl. I could have walked away and ignored her."

"The hell you say!" Veronica yelled, jumping up, "That wench got what she deserved, she had it coming. I'm sorry I disappointed you, Daddy, but I'm _not_ sorry that I hit her!"

Zechs sighed, and decided he could not argue with the both of them. He sent Veronica to her room, and told her that they would talk about it more tomorrow, after their meeting with the head master of the school.

Relena was standing in the doorway, watching her oldest daughter.

"I'm not angry with you, Grace. Nor am I angry with Vera," she said, looking pointedly at her older brother, "She did what she thought was right to defend this family. She acted on her emotions and there's not much I can say against that."

"Mother, why do these people find it necessary to throw it in my face where I come from?" Mary Grace asked, not exactly looking for an answer, but voicing her torment, "This is a good family to be born into! I know that my father left, but..." she trailed off, and decided that she didn't want to get on a subject that would hurt Relena, "I'm just so tired of it."

"I know, Baby, I know," Relena said, putting an arm around her daughter, "But every family is different. People have to learn to understand that. Not every family has the same amount or same kind of members. Look at us, we have twelve members of our family!" Relena said this as she quickly counted in her head, herself and her four children, and her brother, Noin, and their five children.

"People are jealous sometimes," Zechs explained, staring ahead at nothing, "Some people just don't understand. You come from a good family, but a family of politicians. No matter what, some people will only view you as a spoiled brat who always gets her way, Mary."

"It's true," Relena agreed, "Many people still view me that very way."

"They shouldn't," Mary Grace said, looking at her mother and smiling, "I wish everyone could know you like we do."

Relena kissed her daughter's head, "Oh, thank you. I'm glad everyone doesn't know me the way you do, Grace. Then they would know my weaknesses as well, and I cannot afford for the public to know my personal weaknesses. Well, possibly to a certain extent...I want them to know that I'm human, but I don't want them to know so much that it can be used against me."

"That makes sense," Mary Grace said after considering it a moment, "Well, tomorrow when we go and get me a dress for the ESUN gala we need to look for a dress for the Spring Festival as well. It's less than two weeks away."

"I almost forgot. Have you talked to Jake about a corsage?"

"Mom...I have to know what my dress looks like first," Mary Grace reminded her, thinking that as smart as her mother was, she could really be a "blonde" sometimes.

Mary Grace went to bed that night feeling better about the situation that had occurred at school. What did it matter what others thought of her when she had the greatest mother anyone could ask for?

Mary Grace sat on the wall of the garden outside the large private school building. It was warm outside and while waiting on her cousin and uncle to get out of their meeting, Grace had slipped off her uncomfortable shoes, and stripped off her suit jacket, and untucked her white blouse, and then removed the little vest. She looked quite the slouch sitting there with very disgruntled clothes. Veronica may be suspended, but she was still going to the dance. Suspension would not last but two days, and the dance was in eleven days. Relena was supposed to take Mary Grace, Veronica, and Tessa, Zechs's fourteen year old daughter, out shopping for the dresses for both the gala and the Spring Festival.

Veronica and her father came out of the building looking as if nothing had been a surprise.

"Two days suspension and a written apology for Lindsay and her family," Vera muttered.

"Not so bad," Mary Grace said, trying to cheer up her favorite cousin.

Zechs cell phone jingled in his pocket, and he moved several feet away from the girls to take the call.

"Milliardo Peacecraft," Zechs said gruffly.

"Brother? I have something to tell you. I need Lucrezia to take the girls out tonight if she feels up to it," Relena's normally steady and cheerful voice was shaking.

"Relena, what's wrong? Is everything okay? I'm sure Noin wouldn't mind, but..."

"Brother, there's been a threat, and I've been told to take it in stride, to not let anyone know that I believe them or that I'm afraid. I cannot disappoint Grace, so..."

"What's happened?" Zechs demanded, "Has there been another death threat against you?"

Relena got death threats several times a week, and it took some strong suggestions that they were serious for Relena to fear them.

"Zechs, there's been a threat on Grace...they've threatened to kidnap her. I have no idea who this is or why they would want Grace. This has never happened before."

"Relena, this line is not secure. We'll talk about this more when we get home. I don't think the girls should go out, we'll have a dress maker come to them and have the outfits custom made. The girls will like that. In the mean time you just relax. I'm sure Une has already put some Preventers on this investigation. This is serious."

"Yes, well, I'll discuss this with you later on, Brother. Good-bye, be safe, and please watch over the girls."

"I will, Relena, I promise."

Zechs made his way back over to the two girls, and explained to them that the plans had changed and asked them how would they like to have their own dress made especially for them...there were no problems and no questions. For the two young girls, it was just another treat that their parents had decided to give them.

They didn't know that they could be in any danger.

Two days later

Veronica stood still as the seamstress measured her bust. Tessa and Mary Grace were sitting on the bed across the room, discussing what the magazines were saying about the family.

"Wow, listen to this, Vera," Tessa piped up in a cheerful voice, "'Milliardo Peacecraft's sixteen year old daughter is already making the transition from pretty, rich girl to beautiful, wealthy young woman. She has been picked as one of the favorites for the _Fifty Best Loved Social Celebrities_, which is ran by a magazine called _Inside Politics_ that features families that have contributed to the peace we now live in since the end of the wars. Veronica Peacecraft is a gorgeous, raven haired, blue eyed young woman with ivory skin, and the dream girl of many male teenagers, and young adult men. She is charismatic and intelligent, but the most striking thing about this young woman is her beaux. Young, rich sons of diplomats around the world have sought her hand in marriage, as well as casual dating, since she was only fourteen. This leaves her fans to wonder will her sisters (Tessa, 14 and Shelby, 8) and her famous cousin, Mary Grace Peacecraft, have the same effect on young men as they grow older'. Well, Vera, what say you?" Tessa asked, grinning at her.

Vera gave her a weird look, and decided to ignore her. She did not handle her fame very well. She was graceful, yet awkward in front of most of the men. She would rather that they admire her from afar instead of hovering over her shoulder. Tessa was likely to be as popular as her sister, if even more so. The middle sister was fourteen with platinum blonde hair, and Zechs's icy blue eyes. She was a female version of her father with very little trace of Noin's Italian blood in her. Vera was the opposite. Her skin, eyes, hair, and knock-out figure were her mother's, and Vera was thankful to have inherited such beauty.

The seamstress, Beatrice, jotted down Vera's bust and waist measurements, a perfect 36" and 24" respectively. Her hips were thinner though, and this led her to believe she was not proportioned. Tessa and Mary Grace had endured many years of Vera's empty complaints about her "uneven" body.

Tessa said out of the blue, "Grace, where is Aunt Relena? She hasn't been around hardly the past two days. She must be very busy."

Grace shrugged, "I don't know. I thought I heard Aunt Lu say something to Matt about an emergency, but you know how that goes...a shuttle that is late leaving for it's destination is an emergency."

"Well, she would tell him everything and keep it all from us," Tessa pouted as she spoke of her oldest brother, "He's only a year older than Vera, but Mom treats him like he's the only one that can handle the truth around here."

Beatrice the seamstress just shook her head and smiled to herself, thinking that these young women were already sounding so adult-like with all their talks of how much they knew about their parents' line of work.

"Next," she called, eyeing Mary Grace.

Grace sighed, lifted herself from the bed, and went over to Beatrice. She was almost embarrassed to have such smaller measurements, especially when the seamstress kept mumbling, "My, so little!" and "Child, you need to start eating right, there's no reason a lucky girl like you shouldn't have some meat on her bones."

Her chest was a mere 32" and her tiny, nonexistent waist measured in at 18", and her hips were only 28". Yeah, she was tiny all right, but not by choice. Relena's small framed genes had been inherited by her older daughter, but had somehow missed the genes that passed on Relena's gorgeous figure, Grace thought to herself in amusement. No one wanted a toothpick, but eating more wouldn't have done Grace any good. As Vera had pointed out on more than one occasion, Mary Grace had simply been born with very small bones.

Relena sat in her office, eyeing the second letter with a threat against her daughter contained in the text. Her hands shook as she sat it down, still staring at the pristine white letter and the hateful words scrawled in thick, black script. The hand writing was neat and small, but not so small that it wasn't readable. It lacked the largeness and curls of most of the hand writing that Relena associated with what would have been done by a woman's hand. Ir was small and precise, and to Relena, it looked like the hand writing of a man.

This was serious. Kidnappers and bombers and assassins did not just send the President a letter threatening her family members. Almost every threatening attempt that Relena could remember had started with an untraceable e-mail, or a phone call from a secured line, or a typed letter, or a letter with the letter's text having been clipped out of various magazines, newspapers, and articles. Apparently, the suspect found this to be more personal. Two letters, both hand written, sent straight to Pres. Relena Peacecraft with no return address.

Relena looked down and read over the second horrifying letter once again.

_Ms. President:_

_I would like to inform you that this is no joke. I am _dead_ serious...you have information and secrets that I want. Unfortunately that is the extent of my knowledge. I know that you know, and nothing more than this. However, I know you have a daughter. Two of them, if I am not mistaken. One is fifteen now, almost grown up, very lovely girl. I know that you must be proud of her, and that you surely want her to continue to grow into a wonderful woman...and I am sure that if you cooperate, then everything will go as planned. You know what I want. I want the names, identities, and whereabouts of all five of the Gundam pilots and any allies they may have had of which I am not already aware. I have hints and hunches, but I want to know precisely who to look for so that there will be no mistakes. I know that you sheltered those pilots, Miss Relena. Cooperate and everything will be fine, and your life and career will move along as planned. If you refuse to abide by my orders...Mary Grace will go missing. I have seen your daughter, and I have been into her room. Lovely pink color...yes...I know every detail of her bedroom. I will give you three days, Miss Relena, and then my patience will cease._

Relena moved back away from her desk and attempted to breathe normally once again. The Preventers were clueless as to who could be behind the terrifying threats. Lady Une herself had spent the last few hours gathering information, and studying the files of past offenders in hopes of targeting a suspect. However, there had been no real leads found as to who may be toying with Relena's family.

"I can't take much more of this mess," she mumbled to herself, "Who the hell would want my daughter!"

There was a knock on her door, and Relena sighed heavily and told her visitor to enter. She did not care who it was or how they had gotten past her secretary, she just wanted them in and out, so she could be alone again. The knob twisted, and Relena looked up to see who was bothering her when the lights flickered, and the room went dark.

"Oh!" Relena gasped.

The lights in her office had went out, and since there was no light filtering from the hall, she guessed that the whole building's lights had blacked out. It was dark outside, already after nine. Most of the people in the building had gone home save for a few guards, janitors and secretaries...and of course, Relena herself. Being that she was the President, she had work to do.

A chill ran down her spine, but she didn't know why. It was just a blackout, it had happened before.

"Ms. President?" said a scratchy and high-pitched voice, "Do not be afraid, Miss Relena Peacecraft."

However, at those words, fear coursed through Relena's entire body, causing her to shiver and wish that she had not sent her guard duty away from her office.

"Who's there?" she called, willing her voice not to shake.

There was a scratchy laugh, more like a bark, and the voice said, "Now, now, Ms. President, surely you must have already realized that this is no routine visit from one of your diplomat friends. You are smarter than that. You must know that this is something of more importance, Ms. President."

The voice was moving closer to her, and Relena was breathing rapidly. Whoever this was, they were good. How was someone as suspicious as this character able to get past the guard detail, the security outside, the secretaries, the other set of guards at the entrance to her corridor. She could killed right now and this person may never be identified. Sneaky, that was the word she was looking for as she scrambled to understand how someone could surprise her in such a manner. She had only known one person to be so slick that they were almost nonexistent when it came to breaking in places.

Oh, how she wish Heero was here now! He had said that he would always protect her, and here she was, surely close to death...but hadn't it been over? He had left her, and broken the promises of marriage, so why not break his promise of protection as well? Relena's scars were healing, and she was only thinking of Heero in a selfish manner, the way he had informed her years ago that it should have been: Heero as the protector, and Relena just waiting to be protected.

A gun was pressed against her jaw, and she gasped in surprise once again. She could not move for she was frozen in fear.

"I could blow your head off right now, Ms. President," the voice said mockingly, and Relena was beginning to realize that the person's real voice must be disguised. It was so oddly distorted that there was no way cameras or recorders hidden in her office could possibly hope to identify this person, man or woman, Relena still didn't know.

"What do you want?" Relena demanded in desperation.

"The names of the Gundam pilots, of course. I want each of their identities, their whereabouts, who they married, who they sleep with...all of it. Even the names of their children. I want my revenge," the voice shook with rage, "I'll go to jail and do the time, the life sentence, the death sentence, whatever...if they catch me...but first I want their _names_. I know that you have received my letters, Ms. President, and this is when I expect you to tell me. Go on...I have a hunch that you won't even have to move to retrieve the information on those pilots. I have a feeling you know very well who they are and where they have been for the past eighteen years."

Relena swallowed hard, and closed her eyes, though the darkness did not change. Then, Heero crept into her mind again. _Dammit, at a time like this_, she thought grouchily. She remembered their wedding, the promises he had made and broken, the time before that when he had sneaked into her room and loved her for what she thought would be the only night...five weeks after that when she had collapsed in her bathroom onto her knees, staring at the little white stick that indicated that she having Heero's baby. She remembered when Heero had returned to see his daughter, and asked her if he could stay with her and their child, asked if she would marry him...

Tears rolled down Relena's cheeks. She remembered when Thomas had been born, and Owen a year and a half after that, and then little Savanna...their children...he had left them, and she didn't know where he was!

She thought of Wufei and Sally, their brief marriage, their only child, Lin, and Wufei's untimely, accidental death. She thought of Duo and Hilde and their seven children. Alan, Bret, Jami, Jessy, Criss, William, and Cara, ages five to sixteen. She thought of Quatre, his deceased wife, their only daughter, Charise, who was only twelve. Then there was Trowa and Catherine, and the happiness they had found, the children they were raising. Finally, she thought of her brother and Noin. They had always been there for her. To turn on the five Gundam pilots would be to turn in her brother. Once this lunatic figured out that Milliardo Peacecraft had piloted a Gundam as well, they would be after him and his family.

She could not let this happen. She knew she would not surrender. These men had gone through too much, and it was up to her, Relena, to see that they continued on with their lives.

Relena felt the cold metal increase the pressure against her jaw, and breathed deeply, then said, "Kill me, if you wish, but it will not get you any closer to finding the Gundam pilots. I will not reveal their identities. Their lives mean much more to me than my own. Go on...kill me, and then I will die knowing that those pilots are safe."

There was a sharp laugh in her ear, and then the voice said, "I thought it would be like this. You probably want to be put out of your misery. Since your husband left you have been quite the little basket case. Also, you are in the paper every other day. Most of the reports have to do with the torrid affairs that you carry on with all these politicians. Some mother...some president...going around screwing whoever you want. Was that why your husband left you? Or is the reason you're abusing your body because he left? I heard that you talked to a lawyer, and finally decided to file for divorce. Ah, it's great these days...you can divorce your spouse without them ever knowing it...so when was it final, Ms. President?"

"It's none of your concern. My husband left, and that's over now. What does this have to do with what you want? Kill me or forget about the information...either way you will get any of it from me."

"Oh, but do I now see the relevance, Ms. President?" the cold voice said into her ear, "You know what I am speaking of, whether it is true or simply a rumor, you have heard what has been said of your husband."

Relena held her breath and prayed that her captor was not about to imply what she feared.

"I know about the rumors of Gundam Pilot 01 wedding the adorable Miss Foreign Minister Darlain. Can you not decide which name that you would like to use, Ms. President? Darlain, Peacecraft, Darlain, Yuy, Peacecraft..." the man called off in amusement, "Just curious, why the change..."

Relena did not know why she felt the need to tell the man this, but she said before she thought, "Because of my brother...I found him again...I thought that if we'd shared the name we once had, it could reestablish our family's good name. My name is still Darlain...just Darlain-Peacecraft now. If you read the papers so much, then you would know that little fact, " Relena said smartly.

The gun pressed harder against her skin, and she knew her retort had been a mistake.

"I don't think that you are very funny, Ms. President Darlain-Peacecraft. However, I find it unnecessary to kill you. It would ve a waste of my time...so you never said what you thought of those rumors...did you marry Gundam Pilot 01, Ms. President?"

Nausea swept over Relena, and she felt herself sway a bit, but managed to force out a very fake, yet very taunting sort of laugh, and said, "Why the hell would I marry a Gundam pilot? They are the most dangerous men on earth and in the colonies, you know. They probably cannot stand to be around people because of all they have done to society. I do not know...however, punishing them would mean having to punish everyone from Oz and Romefeller as well."

"Ms. President, I do not have time to listen to your theories. You will be sorry that you didn't give me the information that I desire," the pressure from the gun on her face disappeared, and she turned around, lashing out with her hands and feet at whoever had dared to treat her in such a manner. She bumped into her desk, and felt around in the dark. A few seconds later the lights flickered back on, and there was no one in the room but Relena. She was shaking from fear still, and barely managed to hit intercom button.

"Martha? Martha!" she called into the intercom. There was no answer.

Relena felt for the alarm button under her desk that she could not reach when her captor was in the room with a gun in her face. She hit the small little button and sirens began squealing immediately. Relena stayed where she was, knowing better than to leave when there could still be danger outside her office.

Preventer vehicles screeched into the parking lot below, as well as three ambulances, a fire truck, and several squad cars from the local police station. Relena waited with baited breath and clenched fists as the guards and police officers entered the building. No more than two minutes later, four Preventers ran to her door, guns pulled, eyes searching her room.

Trowa was one of the Preventers. He glanced at her with eyes full of concern, "Relena, are you all right? You aren't hurt, are you?"

Relena shook her head, and felt her feet moving beneath her without her willing them to move. She stumbled toward Trowa, disregarding his gun, and threw her arms around his waist. He lowered his gun, and nodded to the others to continue their search.

"Relena, what happened?" Relena loved the way that Trowa chose to ignore the rule that everyone call her "Ms. President" or "Miss Relena" or "Miss This", "Miss That", she was simply glad that she had a friend in the room.

"The person that made the threats in writing against my daughter decided to show up and give me a scare. Trowa, I think he's serious. He...thinks he knows the identity of Gundam Pilot 01," saying this, Relena gave him a significant look to indicate that the hunch the man had was correct, "He wants revenge, he says, and that he didn't care if he went to jail. He almost killed me, but...I don't know what stopped him, Trowa. He had a voice distorter."

"This was a smart fellow," Trowa said, "and I seriously doubt that he worked alone. A guard downstairs said that the power blinked, but he thought it was just the lights. He tried to catch an elevator up here, but they were out. Whoever did this shut down all the power in this building, yet somehow managed not to affect the other places in this area. They are good. And they don't care who dies... we have three dead, Relena."

She covered her mouth, and tears crept into her eyes, "Who?" she asked.

"Your secretary, Martha Gill, was strangled to death. We have a janitor and a guard that were shot execution style. I hate to say this, but we have professionals on our hands."

Relena wrapped her arms around herself to try and cease her shivering. Then, she thought of something.

"Trowa, has Zechs and Noin been warned of the situation?"

"No, I don't believe that Une wanted to arouse any fear or curiosity just yet..." he looked at Relena's paled face, and asked, "why?"

"Trowa, the original threats were against my daughter...he wasn't after me...he wanted to make sure of what he already knew, which is that I would give my life for the Gundam pilots," she stared up at her friend in horror and desperation, "Trowa, they're going after Mary Grace."

To Be Continued

-S. Michelle Green

AN: I LOVE reviews! Please...


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